Search the Community

If one doctor offers a lower "self-pay rate" than another doctor, does that mean that if you DO use insurance, and insurance only covers partially, then the cheaper self-pay doctor will have more leftover that you have to pay? I guess what my question is is this; Do surgeon's charge the same if you are doing self pay or using your insurance? I am just amazed how complicated they make this whole process.

Definitely take this time to get prepared! Spend more of your time reading the post-op forum than the pre-op forum. That way, you won't be the one asking these same questions that get asked every single day here: HELP it's after surgery and I feel hungry, is that normal? HELP every time I eat my stomach roars and grumbles, is this normal? HELP I'm three weeks out from surgery and the scale hasn't moved in four days, what am I doing wrong? HELP I'm on full liquids and I can drink a protein shake really fast. Did they actually do my surgery? HAVE I STRETCHED MY SLEEVE? What should I eat on purees? When should I start exercising again? How long until I can lift my baby/toddler after surgery? When can I go back to work? If I lift weights, use expensive oils and body wraps, and gobble 1000000 mcgs of biotin every day, I will successfully avoid having any loose skin or suffering any hair loss, right? What should I take with me to the hospital? etc. Seriously, though, being nervous is completely normal and understandable -- but keep reminding yourself, complications and an early death are a lot more likely if you remain obese rather than undergo a surgery that is safer than a gallbladder removal. No surgery is risk free but obesity is a lot riskier than this surgery!

I was just wondering if anyone has consulted a lawyer reguarding complications? I really feel like my doctor was negligent by not listening to my complaints and I feel the infection got a lot worse because he woudn't listen to me. It was like he just wanted to put the band in, get the money and didn't want to hear that there could possibly be something wrong. I was sent to the ER by my regular doctor. The ER doctor saw inflamation around the band which indicated infection and he put me on antibiotics and talked to the surgeon on the phone. 3 days later the surgeon told me to stop taking the antibiotics and said I didn't need them. This is just one example..... Thanks,

Hi, Can you consume alcoholic drinks after surgery? My Co workers wife had a VSG a years ago. She was told by her pcp that she couldn't drink anymore or it could be serious complications. Anyone told otherwise?

I am presently in the process of finding a lawyer and bringing a suit against the doctor who put in my band. It was done in Mexico, and was not sutured in place, so was slipping around and causing pain and nausea. It had to be removed back here in the states a week after it was put in. Of course my insurance company here won't cover the bills because they were related to a "non-covered" procedure. So including the initial surgery fee, I now have $38,000 of uncovered bills, oh yeah, and no band! Legally, it is more complicated since the surgery was done in Mexico. I will post when I have more concrete information, but right now this is in the preliminary phase.

Hi everyone: I'm in a dilemna here. Picture this if you will.... I get up in the morning and drink a bunch of water to replenish my bodily fluids due to not having any since the night before, which is of course on account of the warm overnight temps we have here in Denver, CO this time of year. I try to do this 30 minutes before taking my morning meds. However, the first few sips of water I drink almost ALWAYS seem to bounce right back up, thus forcing me to barf it up so I can continue drinking water and subsequently take my meds with no problems at all. 30-45 minutes after this, I eat breakfast. This has been something of an ordeal for me as of late, but that could easily be attributable to the cereal I'm eating too (Kashi GoLean Crunch). However, there's one more thing that puzzles me. Now we all know we've been told to NOT drink ANYTHING 30 minutes either before or after eating (Or eat ANYTHING 30 minutes before or after drinking), right? Well....Guess what I'm finding myself having to do just to get food to go down..... Yep! You guessed it - DRINK WATER. Albeit in sips, but water nonetheless. Sometimes the water will help the food go down and sometimes it'll just simply loosen it up whereas it'll come up when I barf. Is this normal? If not, what might I try doing to alleviate this problem? What does this problem seem like? 9I know not everyone here is a doc, but I know there are a few here ). I ask this because I've had two fills by appointment in the last two months & had to go back in earlier this month to have some saline removed due to complications. And if that weren't enough, I'm scheduled for my 3rd IN AS MANY MONTHS (The book says I'm only supposed to have 6 in the first year, yet I'm on pace to have 12 as it stands now). Any insight as to what this problem is would be appreciated. :thumbup: Cheers

I'm 3 1/2 yrs post lapband. No soda is allowed with the lapband because it can cause band erosion or slippage. I occasionally will have a sip of hubbys soda if we're out to eat, but basically don't drink it anymore. My band is slipped now (thanks to my frequent vomiting) and I'm revising to a sleeve soon. From what I've been reading, they say no to soda because of discomfort. banders are sposed to have discomfort with soda too, but I have none. So is it medically ok to drink soda but it's up to the individual on whether it causes pain - or is it across the board a no-no? Just curious....

I chose the sleeve for a few reasons. It is less risky and the chance of death is about half that of the bypass. There are much less long term complications that can occur with the sleeve than with the bypass. The whole malabsorbtion issue mentioned by others. With the sleeve you are supposed to be able to eat all foods in moderation. With the bypass if you eat certain foods you will get very sick.

Thursday, June 23, 2011 Well, I am five whole days post op now, and have to admit, I am feeling better every day. I took a couple of pain pills last night, but not because I was really in pain, I just wanted to assure that I slept well. Also I seem to be running a low grade fever (around 99.4) and wanted to get some Tyelnol into my system to get the temp down. I am taking the antibiotic that the hospital sent me home from with, and it tastes like CACA! It is liquid, and I hate it. But I am trying to be a Big Girl (maturity wise, I already have the physical "big girl" covered!) and take the antibiiotic as prescribed. When I had my hip replaced ten years or so ago, I procrastinated all day long on injecting my anti blood clotting medication, because I HATE needles (funny thing for a nurse to be afraid of, Huh?) But I am trying to do everything I am supposed to do to make sure that I get well and feel good ASAP. I have to return to work on July 5, so I can't afford any complications. And I want to feel good when I go back to work. I work 12 hour shifts in a very busy Labor and Delivery department, and I can't afford to be "off my game". I was pleased that I got almost all my liquids down yesterday. I hadn't really tired hard before yesterday to get my liquids in. But was reading somewhere on this board how important it is to drink all your liquids, so made a special effort last night, and got almost all of it down. I am starting early today to get my liquids in, so that I won't have to sit and just sip all evening tonight. I am SO looking forward to starting mushy foods! I also need to get busy with my protein drink. I haven't been getting my protein in like I should, so starting today, I am going to work on that in addition to getting all my fluids in. Well, no new revelations today. I went to bed last night thinking about what I had written last night about my relationship with food and eating. I still seem to be "chewing" on it. My employer called me yesterday and wanted me to take a drug screen test today. Now they didn't know that I had surgery, cause I took a month's vacation to have the surgery, but they were sort of "unsympathetic" when I told them I had just had surgery and was still taking pain pills, so couldn't take a drug screen. Wanted to know "how soon I would be off the pain pills so I could take the drug screen"! Geez, just a drop of empathy would be nice! Well, I am going to tackle cleaning my house today, so I need to get busy. I live and work in California most of the year, but our home is in Iowa. My husband doesn't travel with me, he stays home in Iowa most of the time, and his definition of clean doesn't match mine. So on the infrequent times I spend time at home, I spent a lot of time cleaning, picking up, trying to get the house in shape. So that is my task today. (Not that I will get everything done by any means, but I can start!) If you are reading this, I am sending good thoughts your way. Have a GREAT day!

Well I went for surger on the 30th of May. I had some complications, ended up having to be an open surgery. I have been on a liquid diet, clear fluids for a month, and then mushies for a week. Now that I am back on full foods I have changed my lifestyle. It is really crazy, we are being so much more concious of what we eat and what we cook and what we keep in our house. It has been a great transformation for me and I see this working for me in the long term. So to keep me accountable I started a food diary!!! That was so great to read, because it helps me so much, and keeps me accountable for what I eat. I actually enjoy writing down what I eat because it isn't crap anymore. And I am so exctied to look back day to day what I ate. Also because I am a nurse and work night shifts and day shifts it was really important to me to be able to see what I eat during these days. I mean nights at work, I used to binge eat because I was bored and thought I was hungry. Now seeing how little I eat or the healthy things I choose make me so happy. It also works as a great incentive. I am going away in September and will be on a beach if only for a few days, but I am gonna enjoy some tasty sea food and maybe dessert! Best thing I ever did. Thanks for posting about it. PS mine is a self made scrap paper pieces stapled togther. It looks ratehr sad but does the job! And I always right down right after I eat! Thanks again!!

Below is an email from my Dr's office... Do you think Allergan will cover this type o complication? basically my band has a bubble, aneurysm, blister (whatever you want to call it) in it and when they fill it the Fluid is all going in to this bubble. Below you can see what Allergan wants to see from my Dr as he is appraoaching them to replace it... just want to know what you all think??? Ok, I finally have some information for you. Dr B let me know that we need to do a fill under fluoroscopy to show Allergan where the dye is going. So we will adjust your band while we are shooting an xray which will show Allergan the fluid is not leaking out of the band. I am having Becky work on dates for next week to get you in to do that. I will let you know once we have a better idea. We are getting closer. No, it is all accumulating in a bubble. Think of your band as having a blister except the fluid goes in but can't come out. Jessica Thorpe, RN, BSN, CBN

Hi guys. This is just me being nosey. I like to visit the american pages (if you don't mind) its really interesting how things seem to be a bit different as far as banding goes. We have the NHS - where (SOME) overweight people can get their banding done free - although you need to wait a very long time (and the list is getting longer) - usually about 2 years and if anything goes wrong with your banding - its fixed free. I think you may need to pay for extra fills though. I got mine done privately - unfortunatley had to pay, but I couldn't wait any longer. When I went to visit the doc on 23rd May, I was in for 20 minutes and accepted straight away. I didn't have a complicated history and the doc could have fitted me in the following week if I wanted!! I have seen the dietician and had my bloods checked, but that was it. I see a lot of listing on yours with dates of certain appointments you need to go to before surgery. Can someone explain to me the process you need to go through and how long does it take. Does everyone have to pay in the US? N xx Happy 4th July by the way. :thumbup:

Hi I too feel that this type of surgery and being surgery it is absolutely necessary for your husband to know. There is always the potential for complications that could necessitate a serious or emergency situation. Best Wishes, Donna VBG/87 Revised To Lapband/06 By Dr. Cobourn 251/162/125 goal

Hi, was banaded on 7/22/08, by Dr. Joseph Galloway in Mobile Al, The most wonderful surgeon I ever met. I had no complications from surgery, everything went well, went home the day after. Did my full liquids now onto soft foods, follow-up appt. was 7/31/08, had lost 15 lbs, Dr. Joe doesn't require a two week pre-op. So my surgery was on a Tues, my husband took me to New Orleans the week-end before surgery and we had all our fav foods, gumbo, muffellate, shrimp po' boys, jambalaya, it was wonderful. I can honestly say I don't even think of this as a diet, it just a new way of making food choices, for you better health. I don't go back for six weeks unless problems, but I feel great. Debe

Below is an email from my Dr's office... Do you think Allergan will cover this type o complication? basically my band has a bubble, aneurysm, blister (whatever you want to call it) in it and when they fill it the fluid is all going in to this bubble. Below you can see what Allergan wants to see from my Dr as he is appraoaching them to replace it... just want to know what you all think??? Ok, I finally have some information for you. Dr B let me know that we need to do a fill under fluoroscopy to show Allergan where the dye is going. So we will adjust your band while we are shooting an xray which will show Allergan the fluid is not leaking out of the band. I am having Becky work on dates for next week to get you in to do that. I will let you know once we have a better idea. We are getting closer. No, it is all accumulating in a bubble. Think of your band as having a blister except the fluid goes in but can't come out. Jessica Thorpe, RN, BSN, CBN

Im a professional in the field however im a 7 months out Vg patient I love it!!! Emotional Wellness is a complicated thing no cookie cut.. wht work for others might not working for another...obesity can call depression also.... i believe increase excerise. , life coaches or natrapath doctor can help.

Finally i was sleeved yesterday with no complications [emoji72] . Im still in the hospital waiting to do the leak test and go home.[emoji179]

I had my surgery on spring break and though I was tired and not back 100%, I was able to make it and sit through all 5 of my classes. I also have to walk between classes which total about 3 miles. I didn't have any complications, but i think if all goes well, it's doable! Good luck! By the way, if you really feel awful they have to accommodate you, I'm sure your surgeon will give you a note. Good luck.

Hello Everyone! Got a call from the surgeon's office yesterday, I'm approved! I'm happy to say I have a tenative surgery date of November 3rd. Why so late you may be asking, :omg_smile: let me give you the reason why. While I was doing my 6 month pre-op I decided on breast reduction surgery. In late July I had around 7 lbs removed total. Unfortunately a small infection developed which caused stress on the already tight skin. The infection cleared up, but has left an open wound that a 4x4 gauze pad just covers.:tongue2: There is new skin growth starting to cover the area, :scared2: but it's very slow in getting better. ( 7 weeks tomorrow) It must heal completly before surgery. If it should somehow get better quickly, they will move my date up. If it doesn't I'll have to push the date even later. Here I thought I'd be having it done this month! I don't regret having the breast reduction, even with this huge open wound, it is great having all that weight removed and I no longer have to order a extended cup size that never really fit anyway. (40H to 40C) Plus,it was all covered by insurance where breast lifts are not. I am praying for this to heal quickly and without any more complications so that I may finally be an offical bandster!! Thanks for reading, sorry for such a long post.

My surgery is tomorrow morning 1/15 and I am a huge bundle of nerves right now. I can't remember the last time I was this nervous about something for so long. I haven't been sleeping much since I got my surgery date the week after Christmas Here's a little about me and my fat history: I was a little overweight in my childhood, but I was also a three sport athlete through high school(Football, wrestling and baseball), which helped keep me around 200lbs my senior year (5'11). I joined the Marines right after graduation and got down to 170 and maintained 170-190 for the 6 years I was in. I got out when I was 24 and finished up my last two years of college and got a desk job. That's when the weight started creeping up on me. Fast forward 12 years to 2010 after I had ballooned up to 340lbs, I decided to diet pretty hard and managed to lose 90lbs from 2010 to mid 2011. I was feeling pretty good about myself, but for some reason decided to sabotage it all and proceeded to put those 90lbs plus an extra 40 back on from late 2011 all the way to now. I decided I had had enough in June after years of yo-yo dieting and trying every diet in the book that it time for a change and looked into WLS. I considered the lap band at first for the usual reasons (not cutting up the insides), but after talking to another doctor and reading various forums about a lot of lap band removals, I decided on the sleeve. After spending six months on the insurance weight management plan for bariatric surgery, it's all happening really fast now. It's finally real. Anyway, this time tomorrow, my surgery should be finished and I'll probably be high on anesthesia/pain meds. I just need to keep telling myself that I'll be in the 99% of people that don't have complications.

My surgery was in june 6 of this year haven t had any complications so far, yesterday i helped moved some heavy equipment including a piano, having having to lift and strain to lift it up into a truck. Now everything EVERYTHING i eat is getting stuck and i have to throw it back up, other than calling my doctor which is the obvious i need suggestions on what i might of done, and what i can do. Thanks

Go have .5 of the fill taken out. The more dehydrated you get the more they will have to take out to make it better. Don't wait, being too tight is a major cause of complications.

I did not have a pain pump, I was in alot of pain, but I think that might have made it much more complicated and worse. Just a tip, make sure you get your scheduled fills after to get best results! Good Luck! I took a nasal spray pain medicine which was great and worked well.

I'll be in hospital for 5 stay for complications if someone's got nothing better to do :-)

You say you lack the energy to be an exercise partner. I know personally the one thing I would love to have more than anything is a walking partner! Walking is good exercise, you should not walk so fast that you can't carry on a conversation so it's a great social time and it costs nothing to do...in these financial times, something free that's good is not to be sniffed at! Okay, you say, but I don't think I can do that. Well, tell her you will walk with her until you feel that must turn around. Every time you go out, try to walk a little further. You will benefit from this AND SO WILL SHE. You will get stronger, and she will feel that you are making a big effort for her and that should inspire her, too! Do you cook at all? You can cook simple meals and surprise her and provide meals that are within "the plan" and maybe even provide some leftovers that can then provide a healthy lunch the next day. Example? Grill chicken, steak or lean pork OR FISH. There is a flat thingie with small holes to put fish on on top of the grill grid. Spray it with PAM so the fish doesn't stick. Grill vegetables! Some fruits even taste better grilled because it intensifies the flavor! Experiment. A little leftover steak can be added to salad greens with some sauteed mushrooms and low fat or fat free salad dressing. Instant lunch. Support isn't complicated. Reward her with a surprise now and then. There's a thread here somewhere about rewarding yourself. I suggested a nice (though certainly not ostentatious) piece of jewelry at 50 pounds. Maybe a silver (or gold, if you can afford it) charm bracelet with just one charm on it. Then add to it every 5 or 10 pounds. Silver would make more frequent charms more affordable. And what a nice surprise to have you pick these out for her! Love is the best support of all, my friend!